Dear Colleagues,
Publication of the National Space Strategy
We are pleased to announce that the government is today publishing the UK’s first ever National Space Strategy and UK Severe Space Weather Preparedness Strategy.
The National Space Strategy sets an ambitious vision to make the UK one of the most innovative and attractive space economies in the world, bringing together government civil and defence interests in space for the first time, under one coherent direction.
The National Space Strategy outlines five goals, which will guide Government direction and investment over the next decade and beyond:
- Grow and level up our space economy.
- Promote the values of Global Britain.
- Lead pioneering scientific discovery and inspire the nation.
- Protect and defend our national interests in and through space.
- Use space to deliver for UK citizens and the world.
Achieving the UK’s goals in space will require coordinated action from Government, industry, academia and international partners. Public investment alone will not be sufficient and the UK will require a significant increase in private sector investment to grow the UK space economy. We must build on existing commercial and international partnerships and foster new ones. We will set the conditions to create an internationally competitive sector and strengthen defence and security both at home and overseas. We will achieve our goals through four pillars:
- Unlocking growth in the UK space sector.
- Collaborating internationally.
- Growing the UK as a science and technology superpower.
- Developing resilient space capabilities and services.
We will target resources to pursue the highest impact opportunities and critical cross-cutting enablers. The choices the UK Government has made are detailed in the 10 Point Plan, which is designed to lay the foundations for the ambitious and thriving future the UK is seeking in space.
In pursuit of a safe and secure space environment, the Government will also publish the Defence Space Strategy. This will set out our vision for the UK as a global actor in the space domain. It will detail how the Ministry of Defence will deliver the ‘Protect and Defend’ goal outlined in the national strategy through space-related capabilities, operations and partnerships.
UK Severe Space Weather Preparedness Strategy
The UK Severe Space Weather Preparedness Strategy sets out a five-year vision for how Government, industry, academia, and our international partners will work together to boost UK resilience to the risk of severe space weather events.
The Strategy features a series of commitments summarised into three “pillars”:
- The Assess Pillar focuses on enhancing our understanding of severe space weather, its impacts, and our ability to forecast events.
- The Prepare Pillar focuses on increasing the resilience of essential infrastructure and services to minimise impacts and appropriately manage the risk.
- The Respond & Recover Pillar focuses on ensuring the UK can respond to events effectively and recover quickly. This includes deepening our co-operation with international partners.
This UK Severe Space Weather Preparedness Strategy supports the aims of the National Space Strategy, enabling the UK to pursue its wider ambitions for space.
We have engaged widely with the sector to date to develop these strategies, and we are very grateful to the countless individuals and organisations who have contributed to their respective development.
The publication of these strategies is just the first step in the journey towards our thriving future space economy and the Government will continue working closely with the sector to ensure the successful implementation of the National Space Strategy.
We are very pleased to be able to notify you of the publication of these documents I welcome the opportunity to engage with you further as we deliver this important agenda. Copies of this letter and both strategies will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
The National Space Strategy can be found online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-space-strategy
The UK Severe Space Weather Preparedness Strategy can be found online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-severe-space-weather-preparedness-strategy
